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Published: November 2nd 2007
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Morfa Bychan
Us, with Margaret and Jim, out the front of the Chalet. Whoever it was that built Wales deserves a huge pat on the back; the natural beauty here is so astounding you are at a loss as to know what to point your camera at next.... Every country we have been to so far has its little quirks - for instance, the way the Italians completely disregard the road rules, yet manage to avoid the catastrophic accidents which you would think would be around every corner, considering the way they drive; the French cart little dogs everywhere (including restaurants) but are completely oblivious to the ensuing layer of dog excrement underfoot; and the Welsh...well they seem to have an unhealthy aversion to dentists... I'm not sure why, but very few people seem to have a full set of teeth, and the teeth they have are hanging by a thread... but people here are as friendly and helpful as everyone else we've come across - despite the impending match on Saturday (and despite the language barrier which was FAR more impenetrable than Italian). We were lucky enough to stay in a holiday chalet owned by Jont's parents, Jim and Margaret, which is by the beach at Morfa Bychan (near Porthmadog on the
Porthmadog -Team photo
Hmmmm..it's a little bit cooler here than in France! north-west coast of Wales). Not content with loaning us their holiday home, Jim and Margaret stocked it to overflowing with food and drink, AND drove 2 1/2 hours from their home to check we were settled in (which was just as well, as we had just a LITTLE bit of trouble finding them),(NOT lost you understand.... just a little detour via Harlech Castle and a few other important scenic spots) and then drove the 2 1/2 hours back the same night! We had 3 glorious days there, which was about 6 months short of what we would have liked to spend. We were extremely lucky though and managed to get to the top of Mt Snowdon on one of the only two clear days they have every ten years, which (sort of) made up for Mt Pilatus. Then we were on the road to Cardiff. We stopped overnight with Helen and Trevor in Herfordshire along the way, which was also a BIT of a navigational challenge, but we got there in the end, and had far too short a time with them too. Trevor has spent about 5 years turning a 400 year old limeburner's cottage into the most sensational
The day we went to Bangor...1
Didn't we have a lovely time.... This is Beaumaris Castle on the Isle of Anglesey. King Edward 1 built a bunch of castles all over Wales, and this was his last one -state of the art for late 13th century apparently, but it looks kind of squat because it was never finished, old Ed, after building so many castles, no doubt, ran out of money. home. Having spent ONE night in their company I am now a Cassis addict and will have to run away to France if I can't get it back home....(I'm sure I should mention at this point that that Jim and Margaret, and Helen and Trevor are ENGLISH when I'm talking about their World Class Hospitality). Friday we set off for Cardiff. We were booked into the Welsh Institue of Sport, which turned out to be an exceptionally clever thing to do, as, not only could you walk to the match through the grounds of Caernavon Castle to Cardiff and of course the all important Millennium Stadium, but the Wallaby Embassy happened to be right next door, and the Wallabies themselves were just across the road "on the pitch" doing some last minute training. We got there quick smart in time to see young Berrick Barnes being put through his paces, so we deduced that Larkham wasn't going to be much of a chance of starting the next day. Even though Cardiff was quite the big city, we discovered the people there to be just as friendly and helpful as everywhere else in Wales- from the girl at the Welsh Institute
The day we went to Bangor...2
Stopped in at this town...... bags you try to pronounce it. who gave us the most specific instructions on how to get to where we had to return the Hire Car- which funnily enough was out in the middle of nowhere, as well as the nice Indian lady who had to set us straight when we had been directed to the completely wrong bus stop by the Hire Car people (sound familiar??), to the lovely bus driver who made sure we knew where the best pubs in Cardiff were- where you could get the best meals and the cheapest beers. We really got our money's worth out of Saturday: first a leisurely stroll around Cardiff, a few beers and wines at The Embassy, next a nice walk through the park to the game with a couple of other fans, the game itself was pretty good - given that this was expected to be our hardest match ........THEN after the game(with suitcases in tow), we dodged and dived around the 70 000 people still out in the streets to get to the train station where there was Mass Confusion. There were at least another 70 000 people attempting to get on a train to Somewhere - This they had to do completely
The day we went to Bangor...3
World class fish and chips at Criccieth by guess because NO-ONE wearing a British rail vest had the SLIGHTEST clue as to which of the endless lines went where....WELL by some miracle we managed to not only get in the right line, but also the only line that was moving! The next miracle occurred after we, and 10 000 other people, had made it to a platform. Not only did a train arrive (!) but when it stopped, the doors slid open right in front of us, and so we were squeezed onto it, like the hard core of a pimple, landing fortuitously in a seat! Eventually we arrived at Portsmouth after having played the cute game of Musical Carriages that British Rail use to save money, i.e. when there are enough people left to fit comfortably onto 4 carriages, why then you shunt 2 carriages off, and see who is the quickest to get a seat on the remaining 2! Of course, it wouldn't be as much fun without a bit of handicapping, so some people have babies or strollers or crutches or really large, heavy suitcases to contend with as well... Then at Portsmouth Harbour we were lucky enough to jump in with a very
The day we went to Mt Snowdon...1
Gay and Dean can't resist a paddle in the Lake- well-informed taxi driver so that by the time we reached the Portsmouth-Le Havre ferry, we knew the entire history of the Portsmouth Submarine fleet (no extra charge). The ferry set sail about 11pm, and the 4 of us - luckily we're VERY good friends-eventually bunked down for what was left of the night in our (approx 2x2m) cabin.
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Sanddunes
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We knew they weren't telling the truth.....
We met some people last weekend who tried to tell us that you were back in Bellingen. I just knew they weren't telling the truth....xx